TD is a large purchaser of goods and services. In 2007, we spent $3.8 billion in Canada on goods and services from external vendors, ranging from information technology to office supplies. With 58,000+ employees, more than 14 million customers and an extensive network of branches, offices and bank machines, having good relationships with our suppliers is critical to achieving the goal of seamless business operations.

Responsible procurement
Our commitment to corporate responsibility influences how we choose and do business with our suppliers. We strive to purchase goods and services responsibly. For purposes of simplicity, below we outline our supplier policies and practices in Canada. TD Banknorth in the United States, for example, creates and manages supplier relationships according to separate though similar criteria, including environmental considerations. As we move forward, TD Banknorth will be developing a supplier relationship management model to align with the overall TD model, which will serve to ensure consistency of our procurement approach across North America.

We have a Strategic Sourcing Group (SSG) that is responsible for the overall supplier selection process and provides support and expertise to all of TD for its sourcing initiatives. SSG uses a disciplined supplier selection process and assists with evaluating, negotiating and structuring supplier arrangements. The process includes a consideration of the financial viability of competing suppliers and suppliers are screened against a number of criteria.

In addition to evaluating pricing, expertise and service levels offered by potential suppliers, we consider their privacy and security policies and standards, insurance coverage, environmental policies and programs and other applicable business practices and ethical standards. As another layer of due diligence, we also conduct reference checks.

TD also has an Outsourcing Policy, which specifies that all third party employees acting on our behalf be treated fairly following established TD Human Resources policies. The Outsourcing Policy outlines a comprehensive due diligence process for significant outsourcing arrangements, including conflict of interest considerations, technology risks and a supplier’s culture and compatibility with TD’s guiding principles, business objectives, strategies and service philosophies.

A fair and transparent process
We apply a best practices selection methodology that has the objective of delivering a fair, transparent and defensible process for our supplier community. Suppliers that are not successful are offered the opportunity for a debriefing session so that they may better understand the rationale for our decision. Our selection process is intended to protect the confidentiality of suppliers, and the privacy of employees, customers, directors, officers and other individuals.